LatinNews Daily Report - 03 February 2012

Guatemala/Belize | Border death stokes tensions. On 2 February, Guatemala’s foreign ministry announced that foreign minister Harold Caballeros had presented a formal complaint to his Belizean counterpart, Wilfred Ellrington, regarding the murder of a Guatemalan peasant, Juan Choc Chub, on 28 January by members of the Belizean armed forces. Guatemala’s President Otto Pérez Molina also made an official complaint to Albert Ramdin, the Organization of American States (OAS) assistant secretary-general. The issue could inflame latent bilateral tensions stemming from a long-standing territorial dispute. Guatemala, which recognised Belize's independence in 1991, maintains its claim to 12,700 square kilometres of territory controlled by Belize — more than half of Belize's current area. Both countries agreed in December 2008 to submit the dispute to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague for resolution, subject to ratification by referenda in both countries (which have yet to take place).

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